Brose opens a Kids Club: Innovative education and care facility for employees children

Coburg (17. December 2009) December 16, 2009 saw the inauguration of an innovative education and care facility for the children of the employees of the Coburg site – the Brose Kids Club. The ceremony took place in the presence of the shareholders and the Advisory Board of the Brose Group. The official opening took place one day later, on December 17. Among the guests were Petra Platzgummer-Martin, Vice President of the Government of Upper Franconia, and Norbert Tessmer, Deputy Mayor of the City of Coburg. "A company establishing these innovative social facilities is without precedent in our region," said Jürgen Otto, CEO of the Brose Group, at the event. Jürgen Otto continued: "The Brose Kids Club is an essential part of the project Working World 2.0, through which we aim to further develop the Brose Working World® that we introduced in 2001." He went on to explain that the Kids Club is meant to reconcile work and family more than ever and offer employees attractive educational and support services for their children – even in these difficult economic times. "We thank our shareholders for their decision to establish this exemplary facility," Otto concluded. Ulrich Licht, Deputy Chairman of the Works Council, was delighted that yet another social institution has been created for the employees at Coburg. "Our special thanks go out to the Stoschek family and to the Chairman of the Board, Jürgen Otto." The Kids Club will start operations on January 11, 2010. It is located in the house of deceased business partner Christa Leber, the daughter of company founder Max Brose. The welfare of the staff was always of great importance to Ms. Leber. In addition to a wide range of care options, the Kids Club also offers an attractive educational program, the Children and Youth Academy, where employees and family members are taught science, culture and languages. Lessons are given not only during school hours from Monday to Friday, but also on weekends and during the holidays. The flexible opening times are based on the working hours of the Brose employees. A sophisticated school care and homework help program is available for the children of working parents. The care of children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years old is in the hands of vocational and experienced teachers: Dorothea Schaufler is the manager at the Brose Kids Club. She has many years of experience in public youth educational institutions in Bamberg, Erlangen and Nuremberg. Peggy Hoffmann, educational assistant, was previously involved in children's theater and cultural management. The teachers base their course planning on the needs of the parents – and developing the program is an ongoing job. A completely new program is created every three months. The Brose Kids Club also holds unique study and revision weekends during which young people can prepare for their school leaving exams, participate in career choice courses, build their self-confidence and develop their independence. The new facility also offers vacation care, with excellent educational programs that are changed on a weekly basis. The range of services on offer is rounded off by a kids' day nursery/kindergarten. In the event that existing care facilities are not available because a child minder is sick, the nursery is closed or unusual working hours are in force, the Brose Kids Club offers three days of daycare on a time schedule – and from September 1, 2010, a block of ten full-time nursery places will be available for the children of Brose employees at the Coburg Caritas in the Leo children's nursery and care center. The facility was awarded the Children-friendly Upper Franconia prize last year. In his speech, Manfred Seemann, Head of Employee and Family Services, thanked Petra Platzgummer-Martin, Vice President of the Government of Upper Franconia, and Coburg's Deputy Mayor Norbert Tessmer for their support in providing these additional nursery places. The experience gained by the company with the Kids Club in Coburg will be put to good use in the further development of this service model and transferred to other sites.